Paul Beeston | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paul McGill Beeston (1945-06-20)June 20, 1945 (age 80) Welland, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Western Ontario |
| Known for | Major League Baseball executive |
| Awards | Order of Canada |
Baseball player Baseball career | |
| Member of the Canadian | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2002 |
Paul McGill BeestonCM (born June 20, 1945) is a Canadian former professionalbaseball executive. He was the president and chief operating officer ofMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1997 to 2002, and the president of theToronto Blue Jays from 1989 to 1997, and again from 2008 to 2015. He also worked as the president of theToronto Argonauts of theCanadian Football League (CFL) in 1994.
Beeston retired on October 31, 2015, and was replaced byMark Shapiro as president and CEO of the Blue Jays. On September 20, 2016, he was named thePresident Emeritus of the Toronto Blue Jays.[1]
Beeston earned aBachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science fromHuron University College at theUniversity of Western Ontario in 1967. He obtained hisChartered Accountant designation in 1971 and worked forCoopers & Lybrand until 1976.[2]
Beeston was the first employee of the Toronto Blue Jays, joining in 1976. He became vice president of business operations in 1977, executive vice president in 1984, president and chief operating officer in 1989, then was named president and chief executive officer in 1991. In 1994, he served as president of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.[3] From 1997 until 2002, he was president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball.[4]
In 1988, Beeston was named a Member of theOrder of Canada.[3] In 1998, he was elected to the board of directors of theBaseball Hall of Fame and in 2002 was inducted into theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame.[3]
He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario,[5] and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from theUniversity of Western Ontario in 1994 and an honorary doctor of social sciences fromNiagara University in 2001.[6]
He was placed in the Blue Jays'Level of Excellence atRogers Centre on April 4, 2008 prior to the Jays' home opener versus theBoston Red Sox.[3]
After Paul Godfrey resigned as team president and CEO on September 29, 2008, it was announced that Beeston would return to the Blue Jays as interim president and CEO on October 14, 2008 where his primary responsibility was to identify and hire his own successor.[7]
After a "very honest, straightforward and exhaustive search" the Blue Jays and Beeston decided on removing the interim tag, naming Beeston president and CEO on October 27, 2009.[8]
On January 26, 2015, Beeston announced he would retire as president and CEO of the Blue Jays on October 31, 2015.[9] On August 31,Cleveland Indians presidentMark Shapiro was announced as Beeston's successor.[10] Beeston retired on October 31, 2015, and Shapiro officially assumed the role of president of the organization.[11] On September 20, 2016, he was named thePresident Emeritus of the Toronto Blue Jays.[1]
Beeston is married to Kaye, and has a daughter, Aimee, and son, David,[2] the executive vice president and chief strategy officer of MLB'sBoston Red Sox.[12]
| Preceded by Peter Hardy (Chairman and CEO) | Toronto Blue Jayspresident andCEO 1989–1997 | Succeeded by Sam Pollock (Chairman and CEO) |
| Preceded by | Major League Baseball president 1997–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO 2008–2015 | Succeeded by |